Disclaimer: I don't own either Gundam Wing or Sailor Moon.
Enjoy. I spun it as I wrote it. XD
Chapter 4: Hell's Eve
Kiwi-chan
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How can I ever explain to you what you mean to me? My mouth is far too uncouth and barbaric to design and carve words beautiful enough to perfume your hair. I had threatened you with the task of teaching me how to love, thinking that it was as impossible a task as making a rock love a daisy, but in the end, I suppose I proved an adequate pupil if not a quick study. I wanted you to know that.
You are seven circles above me, at the level of the vestibule but a ways from it, where He – Endymion, whoever – had created a home away from home. It was the exact location where Eden was first erected as a sanctuary for those creatures that He'd loved best and the exact location where said sanctuary had sank to grief until it was no longer visible or accessible to man. You have finally caught a glimpse of Eden. Do you realize that I'm not there with you?
"Endymion and Serenity."
I looked up at Trowa's faint words and glanced away, the air of pondering swirling lazily around our group of three.
"Serenity had fallen in love with Endymion. She had rendered him virtually immortal but…" Trowa trailed off and frowned.
"Maybe it's a coincidence," I offered, shrugging with one shoulder. Quatre shot me a scandalized look as if I'd just knowingly offended his mother.
"How can you still say that, Hiiro, when there's so much evidence that-"
"Humans had been on the right track?" I finished a bit harshly and stared blandly at him until he looked away, his light blonde hair flashing pale gold. "If so, I'd never been notified that Satan was a woman, and God was a prick too arrogant to-"
"Watch your mouth, Hiiro," Trowa interrupted sternly and then glanced around to see if anybody had overhead. Satisfied that nobody was paying any of us the smallest stitch of attention, he turned back and swept casual eyes over Quatre's clenched fists, his knuckles burning bone white through the pale flesh of his hands.
"What I'm trying to say is that maybe Satan isn't the evil one. Maybe-" I clamped my mouth shut sulkily at Trowa's admonitory look, wiped the blood off the back of my neck, and glared at its vermillion glow on my pale fingertips as if it was its fault that Trowa had rendered me so inarticulate.
Quatre sighed and leaned forward in his chair so his elbows rested on his knees. "Let's talk about something else." But I knew what he was thinking. Satan? Not evil? It was Serenity that'd seduced Endymion with her notions of immortality. She had bribed him to love her with eternal youth and beauty. I wanted to scream back at him, But had Endymion accepted? Had Endymion turned away from her as a more perfect being would have and uttered a simple, two-lettered word spelled n-o?
"What else is there to talk about?" I snapped. At Quatre's startled look, I softened my expression and looked away. "There's not much else we have left."
"We can talk about Relena."
"You can talk about Relena," I retorted.
Quatre lowered his eyes and bowed his head, muttering, "Sorry." But Trowa wouldn't look away from my glare.
"You can't keep avoiding it, Hiiro. It's like how Relena herself said it – you can make it better by talking to friends." Trowa raised his eyebrows at my nonexistent expression. "We are your friends, you know."
"I do. I do know that." Trowa looked satisfied, and a smile crept onto Quatre's face, illuminating the muddy darkness around us until all those surrounding us turned to look, awe coloring their faces gold.
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"You wanted to see me, Minako?"
All of our heads had turned at the sound of her voice, and there was the general murmur due to Serenity's surprise visit silenced only when the twang! of a centurion arrow pierced one woman's throat; she gurgled a moment, her eyes wide with panic, before the wound closed over and left a scar, the arrow falling as ash into the red slime.
Then it was silent. And in it, we could hear the two women perfectly.
"Ree," Minako started in a low, uneasy voice, her hesitance bleeding through little actions like the fiddling of her fingers, the rocking on her heels, "We've known each other for a long time." She smiled. "You might even call it an eternity." Serenity made no reply, her expression almost dark as if she knew what was coming next. "The others and I have been talking. About Endymion. He-"
"I won't hear it, Minako," Serenity snapped and moved to leave the chamber before Minako grabbed her by the elbow.
"No, Ree, listen to me." Her voices sounded sincere from where we were though Minako was now turned away from us and the whole river could only get a full view of Serenity's crumbling, angry expression. "We just want to know exactly what happened. What did he do to you to make you … to make you, you know, do it?"
There was almost too much meaning crammed into those two little words just like how Relena had crammed too much meaning into the word Hiiro and just like how I'd crammed too much meaning into the word mission.
Serenity was silent, her expression wavering between irritated and crushed.
"Why won't you tell us anything? Do you not trust us? We followed you to Hell, Serenity. Look around you! This is Hell. And we're here with you! But you won't even tell us why we're here! That's like-"
"I loved Him." Three short and simple words that seemed almost devoid of meaning the way she uttered them. Minako was silent. The river was silent. Serenity swallowed and jutted her chin out, correcting herself, "I love Him."
Now, from my experience with females, Minako's next reaction, as I gauged it, should have been to reach out one arm and embrace Serenity progressively before moving the other arm around her and deepening it into a full hug. Instead Minako – the always smiling Minako – gaped, her eyes losing all hints of sun or moonshine, and veritably blew up.
"You WHAT! I'm in hell because you love such a-" her words became muffled as she placed a tautly restraining hand over her mouth. Her blazing eyes, however, uttered more obscenities than her tongue could ever wrap itself around. Serenity flinched as if afraid of being hit but didn't look away.
I saw Quatre sneak a glance my way, but I ignored it. Sometimes it became almost mind-numbing how dogmatic kind, forgiving, and acquiescing Quatre could be when it came to faith.
Then she continued, in a much quieter tone that those farthest from her in the river had trouble hearing, "I didn't ask any of you to follow me. You said you'd come to escort me and then you'd leave so I agreed because I was weak and heartbroken, but you chose to stay. I would have drunk to my death before I let you stay-"
"We know that, Serenity. We know that," Minako sighed and turned away from her to look to the side so that we could see her profile. "What happened, Ree? What did you father say?"
"Papa died before I made the choice. You know that."
"He knew you were going to though. I know you, Ree. You would have told him."
Serenity looked close to sobbing, her cerulean eyes glowing murkily, casting beams of blue-grayish light into the cavern. "I told him the night before he died."
"Before he was poisoned," Minako corrected pointedly.
"Don't make unfounded accusations, Minako," the shorter blonde warned, pulling her shoulders back a little as if to assert her intangible authority.
Minako bowed her head slightly in apology but didn't retract her statement. "I know it's true. I can feel it. Your father was … I don't believe he was anywhere close to death."
"The scientists would have detected poison. You certainly screamed at them enough about it for them to examine the body in detail." A syringe of sarcasm had been poised at Serenity's throat and, in this statement, gently imbedded itself into her vocal cords.
Minako growled and turned to pace. "I hate you for loving him, Serenity. I hope he dies."
"He's immortal now," Serenity stated quietly.
Minako rounded on her. "That's another thing. Your father was also immortal. And that stupid excuse about his immortality wearing off-"
"You don't know if it's stupid. He's the first of my kind."
"You know as well as I do there are certain poisons that can't be detected. A certain poison that could kill an immortal," Minako muttered to her through gritted teeth. Serenity looked down at her pale hands.
"Yes, it had killed my mother."
Minako blinked as if taken aback but continued. "Endymion knows it too. All of Heaven knows it. The elixir made from a heleve blossom, it was a prophecy. Hell. Eve. Hell's Eve."
"I've heard that all my life. Please don't … don't make accusations. I don't think Papa is dead. I still pray to him."
Minako's posture relented. "So do all of us." She sighed a little and then turned to stare Serenity in the eye. "Did you know that Rei, Haruka, and I once went out to look for that flower? We sought to poison Endymion."
"It doesn't grow anymore," Serenity stated with facetious simplicity.
"Yes. Did you know that before we went to look for it?"
"I didn't know you went to look for it."
"They say it's extinct, but I don't believe it. Nothing dies completely in Heaven," Minako whispered furiously.
"It doesn't exist in Heaven; it exists on Earth," Serenity clipped before turning, the tattered train of her dress floating for a brief second before sinking back to the ground in grief.
Earth. The third, most humble sister of Heaven and Hell. The heleve flower existed on this plain sister … I didn't know what to make of it. For there to be a flower powerful enough to kill an "immortal" … what would happen to a mortal if he drank from it? Nothing, probably.
That's when, I think, I assigned myself my own first mission. I will get this heleve flower. I will win back these girls who call me Kitten their wings.
I will see Serenity smile again.
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It's coming together! I'm so excited now. I think I actually have a direction. XD It feels like I'm writing fantasy. I think later on it'll get more religious … but considering … well, I'll let you figure it out on your own. :D This chapter was a bit short. ; Sorry. Kiwi.
You:
Sara: Lol, thank you! I hadn't even realized my fic was an angel/demon fic until you mentioned it. I just thought it was a religious-ish fic. O.o; But, haha.
AffluentHeartache Thank you. :D Different is good. :)
Gackt Camui: My idol. :D Who doesn't believe in updating. ;; I'm … glad that I'm in your thoughts whenever you eat kiwis. XD
Luinfirith Lol, as you can see, I harbor no real resentment for Endymion. Does that mean anything? Hmmm…haha.
Jade Cerise: Haha, thank you!
Angelight I will progress and then I'll regress. XD So by the end of this fic, I'll be back where I started. Watch me, lol. Thank you so much. You're my other idol. ;;
Serenity77: Something like that. :)
Koldy Lol, thank you. That word says a whole lot.
Tenshi no Yupiteru: Yes, it's AU. Well. For Sailor Moon it's mostly AU. For GW it's a little less AU … they were still pilots before but I altered their deaths, etc. I'd imagine Minako gave Hiiro the name Kitten. XD Why did Endymion tack sins upon them – so that he'd have a reason to send each to Hell. :) Hope that helps.
Hecate of Black Magic: How are you confused? Ask me and I shall answer. XD
JaRule Physics is over:D Shows you how long it's been since I'd last updated. XD Not patronizing at all. :)
Ashika Lol, I'm trying to keep it from blasphemy. The ultimate … ah .. moral, I suppose, of the fic is not at all blasphemy. XD
Kail Ceannai: Yes, yes now that you mention it, I think I would've switched Minako and Makoto too. But there wasn't much I could do considering I'd already put Minako in that circle. Back when I had no idea that I was going to use each girl as a representation of her circle's sins. ;; Isn't it strange how well it all fits? Like … I honestly feel that each sin fits. XD Except the Minako/Makoto switch that was incorrigible. ;; I think emotionally, Hiiro is an absolute kitten. XD And I also think it's quite apt … in a slightly paradoxical manner. And it's just cute. Lol. And Endymion is pretty because he's supposed to be pretty. XD I never got into the Endymion-bashing fics. XD
Thank you all for your support:D